The Ignatian Perspective Phil Crotty SJ
Celebrating St Ignatius
In the weeks leading to the Feast Day of St Ignatius,
parishioners and Jesuits at St Canice’s Catholic Parish in Elizabeth Bay share personal perspectives on Ignatian
Spirituality in a series of reflections.
The Ignatian Perspective Phil Crotty SJ
n 1995 the Jesuits, gathered in Rome for
their 34th General Congregations, came
up with this characteristic of what
Ignatian/Jesuit spirituality is all about. It begins
with a deep personal love for Jesus Christ, but
how can a sinner like myself possibly achieve
that?
I
his was their response: “In remorse,
gratitude and astonishment – but
above all with passionate love – first
Ignatius, and then all his followers have turned
prayerfully to “Christ Our Lord hanging on the
Cross before me,” and have asked of
themselves, “What have I done for Christ?
What am I doing for Christ? What must I do
for Christ? The questions well up from a heart
moved with profound gratitude and love. This
is the foundational grace that binds us to Jesus
and to one another. “What is it to be a follower
of Jesus today? It is to know that one is a
sinner yet called to be a companion of Jesus as
Ignatius was.”
T
ope Francis, who took part in that
Congregation, said in an interview
when he was asked, “Who is Jorge
Mario Bergoglio?” The reporter, Antonio
Spadaro, writes, “The Pope stares at me in
silence. I ask him if this is a question that I am
allowed to ask. He nods that it is, and he tells
me: “I do not know what might be the most
fitting description.... I am a sinner. This is the
most accurate definition. It is not a figure of
speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner…… Yes,
but the best summary, the one that comes more
from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am
a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”
And he repeats: “I am one who is looked upon
by the Lord.”
P
.
s a Jesuit, aware of my own
sinfulness, my heart resonates with
those words of the Pope and of the
Jesuits. I am a sinner, but a sinner who has
been looked upon by God. It is this awareness
that gives each one of us the courage to follow
in the footsteps of Christ.
Phil Crotty SJ
A
.
This is the prayer of St Ignatius:
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my intellect, and all my will —
all that I have and possess. You gave it to
me:
to You, Lord, I return it! All is Yours,
dispose of it according to Your will.
Give me Your love and grace, for this is
enough for me.
Listen and pray the words of this beautiful Hymn from the
Saint Louis Jesuits written and performed by John Foley
S.J. “Take Lord Receive” Click here or visit YouTube.